Former Weld County commissioner David Long appointed director of Logan County Department of Social Services

Staring March 1 agency will become Department of Human Services

STERLING — The Logan County Commissioners announced Tuesday that David Long will be the new director of the Logan County Department of Social Services, starting March 1.

Fred Crawford, who has served as the director for the last 14 years, is retiring effective Feb. 28.

Before coming to Logan County, Crawford was the social services director in Washington County for 27 years and before that he served in the social services field in Missouri.

“Crawford has had an exemplary career that has spanned over 45 years serving people in need,” the commissioners said in a press release. “The staff at the department will miss his selfless leadership and direct involvement in the operations of the department. The commissioners wish him a long, well-deserved retirement.”

After an extensive interview process involving a panel of local citizens, Long was selected as one of two finalists, who then interviewed with the commissioners.

Most recently, Long has been a Weld County commissioner for the past 12 years and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the job.

In addition to serving as a county commissioner, he was coordinator for the Weld County Department of Human Services. Long was appointed to the Colorado State Board of Human Services by three governors and has served on the State Child Fatality Review Board, Sexual Offender Management Board and the State Workforce Development Board.

Prior to being elected as commissioner, he was employed by Centennial Mental Health, in Sterling, as a counselor serving citizens of Logan County.

Advertisement

“Long is enthusiastically looking forward to one again having the opportunity to serve the citizens of Logan county in his new role,” the press release states.

There will also be another change on March 1: The name of the Logan County Department of Social Services will be changed to the Department of Human Services.

“The new name is a reflection of the changing and expanding role of social/human services as a governmental function,” the press release said.

The passage of many new federal and state laws has expanded the role of the department to include services such as child and adult protection, family preservation, and employment assessments and placements. There are many more services provided through the department than there has been in the past.

“In today's age, it is not just about providing financial assistance to eligible families and individuals in need,” the commissioners said in the press release. “The new name serves as a way to better describe the services that are provided through the department.”

During a work session, the commissioners talked about the Central Services building where the Department of Human Services is housed, along with the Extension Office and the county attorney. Commissioner Dave Donaldson suggested they think about not calling it the Central Service building anymore, because it's confusing to people.

Instead of the large Central Services sign that's now on the building, he would like to see large signs above the entrances, designation the Human Services Department, Extension Office and the county attorney's office. Right now, there are some smaller signs next to the Social Services Department and Extension Office entrances, but they're hard for people to see from the road.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.